WASHINGTON -- New grant programs, steady increases in Pell Grants,
more public information for students on the cost of education they are
among provisions included in the mammoth Higher Education Opportunity
Act passed by Congress.

The reauthorization also changes many rules community colleges and
governments are going to have to learn to handle.

Following are some of the changes embodied in the new law:

New Web Information

Within a year, the U. S. Department of Education will have to
create a comprehensive website containing financial aid and planning
information and linked to the department's main website. The new
website will include information about financial aid available from
other federal and state agencies.

The department will also have to create a higher education pricing
summary page on the site with information pertaining to colleges'
costs, starting in the 2011-12 academic year.

The information will include costs based on financial aid and
students' income categories. The department will be required to
update it annually to consider inflation.

The department will also provide each college participating in the
Direct Loans program with a model disclosure form for students. The
federal government is not alone when it comes to new information that
must be provided to students. Colleges will have to provide incoming
students with "nonbinding" cost estimates for future years.
Institutions can get exemptions by showing extenuating circumstances,
such as economic distress or a major cut in federal aid.

The department will create a calculator for colleges to figure
anticipated price changes based on changes in the three previous years.

Cost of Textbooks

Textbook publishers will have to give faculty information about
wholesale and retail prices, copyright dates of the three pervious editions of the works and any substantial differences in content among
editions.

Publishers also have to tell professors if revisions are available
in any other format. The law also outlaws mandatory bundling of products
to Title IV schools.

In addition, the Government Accountability Office will study
programs designed to reduce costs of materials, such as buyback and
rental programs.

Pell Grants

The maximum Pell Grant will rise to $6,000 for the 2009-10 academic
year and by $400 in each of the next five years to $8,000 in 2014-15.
The legislation also establishes a minimum award of 10 percent of the
maximum.

The bill also allows year-round Pell Grants for students enrolling
at least half-time--including those in certificate programs.

The bill eliminates the expected family contribution for any
Pell-eligible student whose parent or guardian died as a member of the
military in Iraq or Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001, if the student was
24 years old or younger or enrolled in college upon the death.

Lender Restrictions

Colleges entering into preferred lender arrangements are prohibited
from allow the lender to use the institution's name or likeness in
a manner implying endorsement of the college or affiliated groups.

Colleges and affiliates also must disclose any relationships with
lenders in all documents pertaining to loans. Lenders will have to
report annually on their compliance with the rules.

Lenders also must inform students of terms and conditions of the
loans, including interest rates, repayment plans, early repayment
options, conditions of deferment and forbearance, collection practices,
fees and late payment penalties and any other information the Education
Department may require.

Lenders will also have to report to the Department of Education on
any expenses they paid college financial aid officers. The department
will compile the information and report to Congress.

Loan Changes

When borrowers get deferments on unsubsidized Stafford Loans,
lenders will have to inform them of the impact and how much interest
they will have to pay later. Lenders who transfer loans will also have
to tell borrowers exactly when to start paying the new institution.

Also, all lenders, holders and loan servicers must tell borrowers
at the start of repayment about options and conditions under which
borrowers may lose eligibility.

The law also requires colleges to work with guarantee agencies to
teach students, through materials and instruction, about budgeting and
financial management.

All federal loans become discharged if a student dies or becomes
"permanently and totally disabled."

Perkins Loans get $300 million for fiscal year 2009. When
calculating a college's average cost of attendance for allocating
its "fair share," the allowance for books and supplies
increases from $450 to $500. Loan limits for undergraduates rise from
$4,000 to $5,500.

New Rules

The law prohibits the federal government from creating a database
of personally identifiably student information, except for systems
needed to operate student aid programs.

All public colleges will have to charge in-state rates to members
of the armed forces and their dependents if they lived in the state a
month and to continue the rate even if the service member moves out of
state.

Program Changes

The Special Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership program
gets replaced by a Grants for Access and Persistence (GAP) program,
authorized at $200 million for fiscal year 2009 and unspecified sums in
future years.

States will have to use the grant money to augment existing
funding. States will have to track students who receive grants, which
may not exceed cost of attendance. States will have to explain in their
applications how they will ensure students earn their degrees.

States also must employ a method to identify low-income students in
grades seven through 12, and inform them about the grants. States may
also set time limits for degree completion for students getting funds.

To receive funding under the College Access Challenge Grant
program, states will have to demonstrate their support of higher
education by providing funding equal to or exceeding their average
outlays of the previous five years. States can apply for waivers because
of sudden and unforeseen declines in their budgets. The formula includes
a clause for states with biennial budgets.

Teacher Preparation

The bill allows community colleges to qualify as "partner
institutions" in the Teacher Quality Enhancement program if they
work with four-year colleges to offer bachelors' degrees. The
parties will have to sign formal agreements that include transfer
policies.

Grant recipients will have the additional responsibility of
demonstrating how research and data can be used to improve instruction.
Applications will also have to show how they plan to train teachers to
work with students with disabilities and with limited English
proficiency. And they will have to establish evaluation plans with
"strong and measurable performance objectives," including how
well teachers learn to use technology.

The bill also requires a new report from all college teacher
preparation programs receiving any Higher Education Act aid.

Such colleges will have to report annually and publicly on their
programs and alternative routes to state certification. The "report
cards" must include pass rates and scores for teachers who are
taking or have completed a program, giving the number and percentages of
trainees who pass and average scores.

The report cards must also state how the programs align with the
state's academic content standards required under the No Child Left
Behind Act.

States also are charged with identifying "low-performing
programs of teacher preparation" and provide them technical
assistance.

New Funding

The bill creates some new programs but does not specify all funding
levels, leaving it up to the annual appropriations process.

A Teach to Reach program authorizes competitive grants to
partnerships of college education departments working with high-need
school districts to help general education teacher candidates work with
students with disabilities. Grants can last up to five years, and
require a 25 percent match.

Two new grant programs are aimed at non-tribal institutions serving
Native Americans and to Asian American and Native American Pacific
Islander-Serving Institutions. Grantees can use funds for a variety of
purposes, including acquiring scientific equipment, renovation, faculty
exchanges and curriculum development

Two other new initiatives--Programs in STEM Fields and YES
Partnership Grants--will provide grants of at least $500,000 to
consortia involving institutions of higher education, school districts
and community groups. Projects must provide experience to youth in
science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Grantees must provide
a 50 percent match.

Another new program--Loan Forgiveness for Service in Areas of
National Need--forgives loans to borrowers employed as early childhood
teachers, nurses, foreign language specialists, librarians, child
welfare workers, speech-language pathologists, audiologists, national
service workers, school counselors, government employees, nutritionists,
medical specialists school administrators and highly qualified teachers.
Borrowers using this program cannot get forgiveness under any other
federal program.

Another forgiveness program--Loan Repayment for Civil Legal
Assistance Attorneys--applies to those working in that field. It
excludes PLUS Loans from forgiveness and caps total loan forgiveness at
$10 million.

Tribal Programs

The legislation also allows tribal and Alaska Native and Native
Hawaiian-serving colleges to use federal money for education and
counseling to help students and families with financial and economic
literacy. Tribal colleges can also use federal funds to develop distance
education technologies.

And the bill attempts to strengthen the Historically Black College
and University Capital Financing program.

NEW RULES

The federal government is not alone when it comes to new
information that must be provided to students. Colleges will, too.

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